Chapter 11 of Footprints is here in full — 283 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Footprints is here in full — 283 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes. Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead. Then I thought that he had shot himself. Grandfather took Lucy’s place beside Father. He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
Chapter 11 of Footprints is here in full — 283 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.”
next to; at the side of
From this reading “Grandfather took Lucy’s place beside Father.”
the father of your father or mother
From this reading “Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.”
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.””
possessive form of “lucy” — incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading “Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “Then I thought that he had shot himself.”
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.”
seek information from
In this reading “He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.””
In this reading “Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Grandfather took Lucy’s place beside Father.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
the father of your father or mother
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then I thought that he had shot himself.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Then I thought that he had shot himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
possessive form of “lucy” — incomplete skeleton of female found in eastern Ethiopia in 1974
From this reading Grandfather took Lucy’s place beside Father.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Grandfather took Lucy’s place beside Father.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Then I thought that he had shot himself.
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I I can’t star myself, much, for the next few minutes.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then I thought that he had shot himself.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Then I thought that he had shot himself.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Grandfather took Lucy’s place beside Father.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He looked up at us and told us, “Richard has been shot and killed.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Chris, Grandfather, Aunt Gracia, and Irene were in the room before I had realized that Father was dead.
Chapter 11 of Footprints by Kay Cleaver Strahan holds 283 sentences, grouped into 57 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 11 holds 283 sentences of Footprints, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Footprints by Kay Cleaver Strahan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 283 sentences, grouped into 57 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 11 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Footprints by Kay Cleaver Strahan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6386 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75577 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75577, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 532 minutes of reading across 1278 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Footprints section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Footprints to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Footprints, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
